Digitally printable fabrics have recently seen rapid growth, as fabrics have many perceived advantages over other forms of printable media, such as lower weight (hence lower shipping costs and lighter weight framing devices) and compatibility with a wide range of digital printing technologies. Indeed, even a casual review of most trade shows today will show a nearly complete transition to printed fabric from hard walls and other heavier and more expensive graphics media. There are many printable fabric materials available today. Printable fabrics for indoor applications are wide spread. The range of printable fabrics for outdoor applications is increasing as the market grows.
Most printable fabrics available today are intended for indoor applications and for use with dye sublimation printing technologies. Because of the temperature requirements for dye sublimation, most printable fabrics are polyester based fabrics. The advantage of dye sublimation printing technology is that the color saturation of the printed image is high, and the printed fabric can be easily laundered.
Outdoor durable fabrics have been around since the 1960s for applications such as awnings, outdoor furnishings and marine fabrics, to name a few. One such outdoor durable fabric seller in this space is Glen Raven Inc. of Glen Raven, N.C., offering a wide range of colors and patterns of acrylic fabrics under the brand name of Sunbrella. For customers wanting custom and complex graphics using a wide color palette on an acrylic fabric, the best practice is to print a graphical image onto an adhesive-backed film, over laminate the printed film with a substantially clear protection film, and then to laminate the resulting film stack to the acrylic fabric. One such system is known as SGS or the Sunbrella Graphics System. Customers would prefer to digitally (ink jet) print directly onto the acrylic fabric; however, there are challenges associated with this practice. First, the surface of some acrylic fabrics often has loose fibers which may clog ink jet printer nozzles. Secondly, digitally printable inks are often not as UV stable as the acrylic fabric itself. Thus, a protective coating or film is required to preclude ink fade of digitally printed acrylic fabrics.
Unlike acrylic fabrics, a disadvantage of many polyester fabrics is the fact that they can degrade in the presence of ultraviolet light and high levels of moisture and humidity, characteristic of outdoor environments. Another disadvantage of many printable polyester fabrics intended for outdoor use is the lack of water repellency, a requirement to keep the fabric from becoming too heavy in the rain as the fabric may tear in the presence of high winds and other stresses. Another challenge of many water repellent polyester fabrics is that the chemistry used to infer water repellency reduces the surface tension of the fabric surface thus reducing print quality and/or ink adhesion. Yet another disadvantage of some polyester fabrics is that they are not flame retardant, as is required for certain regulated applications.